UNE Business School looks to the future in milestone year

More than 4,000 people have graduated from the University of New England’s MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree program since it began 21 years ago.

The University is preparing to celebrate that significant birthday later this year. Meanwhile, it has simplified the name of the academic School that delivers the MBA – and more than 30 other degree programs, plus joint degree offerings – to reflect the integration of disciplines within the School.

The name change – from “School of Business, Economics and Public Policy” to “UNE Business School” – came into effect last week with the launch of the School’s new Web site at www.une.edu.au/business-school.

In a big year for the School, it will launch an important new postgraduate degree program – Master of Economic and Regional Development – next month. “This program will draw together disciplines from across the University to prepare graduates who are able to work holistically in addressing problems facing regional communities,” said the Head of the UNE Business School, Professor Alison Sheridan. “It will also draw on UNE’s relationships with international partners to expand the opportunities for students.”

This collaborative approach is exemplified in the work of Dr Boyd Blackwell who, based in the UNE Business School as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, is participating in an investigation into aspects of enduring community value to be gained from mining – a project jointly funded by UNE and the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation. Another example is the work of Professor Oscar Cacho on bio-security and invasive species, presented at his Inaugural Lecture in Armidale this week.

“We aim to be the business school of choice for research into rural and regional development and economic sustainability,” Professor Sheridan said. “While regionally located we’re globally connected.”

At the global level, she mentioned the work of Dr Nam Hoang, who is working with partners from other areas of UNE and from Vietnam and Cambodia on a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The project is helping the development of markets for high-value cattle and beef in south-east Cambodia.

She also pointed out that “the School’s alumni are to be found in key government roles and private sector positions in many Asian countries”.

In her “Welcome” to the UNE Business School’s new Web site, Professor Sheridan says that, “as a signatory to the UN’s Principles of Responsible Management Education”, the School is “committed to developing the capabilities of our students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large, and to working for an inclusive and sustainable global economy”.